Well we have one hell of a season review for you. As always we will cover Everything in this episode. From league and cup matches through to the Youth Intake.
Before we get started lets briefly remind ourselves of the rules and aims of this save.
Rules - This is a youth only save which means
No Transfers of any kind including free agents or loans.
The only way to acquire players is through the youth intakes.
Aims - Long term aims for the save
Win the Premier League
Win the Champions League
For now we are long way from those aims but we do start this season in a new league after a surprising promotion last season. If you want to find out how we gained promotion check out the Season 1 Review here.
Club Improvements
Well, there aren't any. After promotion I thought I would have the board in the palm of my hands. But they stood firm and rejected every request I had to improve youth recruitment, youth coaching, training facilities EVERYTHING.
They did compromise and improve my standing within the game as I was granted the chance to improve my coaching badges.
Season Expectations
Very reasonable expectations. We need to stay in this league to progress as a club. Relegation could be disastrous.
Season Preview
This isn't going to be pretty.
As expected rock bottom. By a LONG LONG WAY.
Buckle up everyone. Its going to be a bumpy ride.
Pre Season
I had a really tough time arranging friendlies for some reason and resorted to playing the U23's and the U18's to pad the game count out.
The most concerning result was against Truro who are predicted to finish midtable in our league. They battered us.
Not a good sign.
Tactics
You wont be surprised to know that we haven't changed the tactic much at all.
The system was solid last season and allowed us to have our best three players in Canha, Allen and Gauvain in their best positions.
This is how we will line up for the season opener.
Little, Parsons, Grainger and Cuthbertson were all products of last seasons youth in take and will hold key roles this season. Cuthbertson is progressing especially well.
August 2022
So we reach the beginning of the season. One that will be a massive test for this squad. It would start with the visit of the title favourites Slough who were just relegated from the Vanarama National League (South)
I wont lie, the start of the season started as expected. It took us a while to find out feet in this league as we lose the first three games, but we finish the month strong with 2 wins and a draw. Its good to see Canha and Allen finding their scoring boots at this level early. They are going to be key.
September 2022
We needed to carry on the form from the last three games into September. Getting points on the board early will be massive in our hunt for survival.
Well we've had a shocker. Four defeats on the spin with only 2 goals scored is alarming. We did end the month with a win at fellow relegation candidates Beaconsfield.
Lots of work to do.
October 2022
Another long month ahead as we face 6 league games. Luckily on 2 of them are away from home. Rootes Lane needs to be made into a fortress.
We got off to a stunner as we smashed 5 goals past Taunton. Dodds and Robbie Legg, only playing due to some rotation and tiredness with the goals.
Some really disappointing results followed before a surprise victory away at Walton Casuals who were vying at the top of the league.
Splashes of positivity. Need to start grinding out results.
Half Way Table
November 2022
Starting to get deep into the season now and points are becoming harder and harder to win.
There is a clear split forming in the league and "6 pointers" are already heading our way. Two such games were coming up versus Merthyr and Tiverton. Both crucial.
This looks so much better, with only 1 defeat in 5 games.
4 points were picked up in the key games against Merthyr and Tiverton, with a huge win away to table topping Slough. This is a real improvement which has propelled us up the table.
December 2022
For the second year in a row the usual "Busy festive period" doesn't materialise. Just the four games but everyone as important as the other as we look to drag ourselves out of the relegation zone.
Straight split down the middle. The biggest result of the 4 coming against Chesham away who were hovering just outside of the drop zone.
We dragged them right back into trouble with that win.
January 2023
The quietest month of the season at this club as we focus solely on matters on the field.
We need wins and quickly to give us any chance of survival. Allen and Canha need to rediscover some serious shooting boots.
Its a straight split again disappointing defeat to Beaconsfield who were bottom of the league balanced out by a strong win against Salisbury who were down there with us also.
A bonus victory against Melksham was welcomed as was Allen's timely return to form. with 5 goals in 4 games.
Youth Intake Preview
Its time for the Youth Intake Preview. The most important factor in our club. This year will be interesting as we made a change in personnel. Lets introduce our new Head of Youth Development.
He has a huge job on his hands.
Lets see his first Intake Preview.
I am still not convinced of the accuracy of these previews yet but I'm keen to see the attacking midfielder and the goalkeeper.
We need defensive back up too but the preview doesn't look too strong, here's hoping that changes.
February 2023
Back to the action and we again with a tough tough run of games. Walton Casuals and Totton are vying for promotion whilst Harrow and Truro still have an outside shot of the play offs.
Yet again we win 2 lose 2 which is much better than I expected considering the teams we were playing. This will give us a huge huge boost.
March 2023
There was light at the end of the tunnel as we head into the last 8 games of the season. After picking up a fair amount of wins over the last few months we were the form team in the basement. Now its the business end of the season can we hold our nerve?
Not now, Please!! 3 draws and a defeat to bottom of the league Taunton has left us on the brink.
Frustratingly the draws against Gosport and Kings Langley are actually creditable efforts as they are both pushing for promotion but I'm not sure what effect the loss will have on the end of the season.
Youth Intake
A possible much needed boost for the final month of the season as we welcome in the Youth Intake.
Lets remember that the highlight of the intake was an A rated attacking midfielder. Lets see what we got.
Well, well, well they appear to have been right. We will look in depth at the top rated players below but firstly lets check out all that potential. We must have a chance at finding a few gems for sure!
Here he is, the hottly tipped midfielder in the intake Christopher Bailey. We will look at how he performs as a central midfielder to fit into the system but he may be a viable option as an AMC to change the formation up when chasing the game.
Warren Norris is next. I've never used a defensive winger role before and i'm not sure its something we need. He could possibly be trained into a defensive role if needed. I will update you on what we do with young Warren.
I feel these two will have roles to play come the end of the season, especially as we are quite light in the midfield department.
If anyone else breaks out I will be sure to mention them.
April 2023
This is it, the last month of the season and it comes down to these last 4 games.
Hendon are pushing for a playoff place so will be a tough game. Hungerford have nothing to play for, Tiverton are already down but Merthyr is a HUGE game as they are only three points behind us.
One last push lads lets do this.....
Another month of split wins and losses as the two harder games were lost late on to put us on the brink of relegation.
We blew Tiverton away to take us down to the last day. Avoid defeat to Merthyr and we were safe. Now go back to the above picture and check out the times of our goals...
We were relegated going into the 90th minute but Ross Allen proved his weight in gold as he fired us level. Tom De La Mare scored his first goal of the season in the 94th minute to secure safety. Just wow.
Final Table
We managed to propel ourselves up to 16th in the table with back to back wins in the last 2 games.
After being predicted to finish bottom by a country mile its a huge achievement. Realistically we may be in the division for a season or two more until we can get the finances in a position to really push through the facility improvements.
The FA Cup
Obviously the FA Cup has huge ramifications at this level as its a huge source of income. An early goal for this save is to get to the FA Cup proper.
We gave a good account of ourselves but came up short on penalties in a Third Round qualifying round replay to Hednesford.
The FA Trophy
In a season where games were piling up the FA Trophy takes a serious back seat.
Lets move on......
Southern League Cup
Another cup that sadly wont take any form of priority at the moment as we look to solidify our league status.
Season Review
All in all an very good season for us. Yes we were in trouble for a while but it was expected and we battled all the way to the last day to secure survival.
We will re asses a few things before the next season to see where we can approve and look to completely avoid a relegation battle next season.
See you next time.
Cheers
Panda
If you want to check out our other FM22 Save, The Darmstadt Dream why not start from the beginning right here?
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